Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Cen) has announced that the government will compensate the event industry for cancellations caused by coronavirus restrictions.
"If the transaction is canceled due to a State decision, it would be possible to reimburse part of the costs incurred," Lintilä said.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating effect on the Finnish event industry, and total revenue fell from around EUR 2.35 billion in 2019 to just a few hundred million euros last year.
Lintilä said that the industry has welcomed the new state aid plans.
"A number of different organizations have indicated their willingness to be involved in the preparation, and industry is also being consulted openly," he said, adding that budgeting for the event’s guarantee will be "at least tens of millions of euros".
"The intention is that the organizers of the event now dare to start preparations. This is a critical time when performers for summer events are booked," he said, adding that hosting cultural events is very important for the regions.
"We have well-established festivals of great importance to the region’s economy and tourism. Quite often events are built around culture, and financial losses are multiple times the real event," Lintilä said.
Source: The Nordic Page
